A Chance Encounter
by Dyna Dee
Summary: Milliardo Peacecraft has a chance encounter with a fellow agent that changes his outlook and feelings about the holidays. Slight hints of yaoi


Author's note: For Karina, because her favorite GW character is the tall, good-looking blond. This is a couple of days late, but it's been a very busy month.

**A Chance Encounter  
Dyna Dee**

Warnings: none really, hints of male-male relationships

Using his shoulder to carefully push open the revolving glass door, Milliardo Peacecraft carefully maneuvered his way out of the store's busy main lobby and into the cold winter night with his arms filled with bulky boxes that comprised the entirety of his shopping list. He congratulated himself on being ahead of schedule, completing his holiday shopping with still ten days remaining until Christmas. The dreaded task was done.

Mentally running over the list of gift suggestions Relena had given him the day before, he first crossed off Pagan's name. The coat he'd purchased for the older gentleman was a near match for his two-decade-old worn one that he refused to give up despite Relena's pleading. No doubt the eager-to-please elderly man would more readily exchange the new coat for the old simply because he had received it as a gift from his employer.

Milliardo had been generous in purchasing gifts for their chef and his assistant, the butler, maid, and chauffeur. Each item had been selected with thought and care and deemed appropriate by his sister. In his rather large stack of gifts was jewelry for the women in his life: Noin, Une and, of course, something extra special for his sister. Finishing his review of the list of people he'd bought gifts for, he frowned at a notably missing name, that of a significant other. With a deep, defeated sigh he reminded himself that he needed to have a lover in order to purchase something for him for Christmas. Despite his title, wealth and position in the Preventer organization, his love life was sadly lacking, and never before had he felt so sorely bereft by the lack of a lover as he did during this holiday season.

It was a relief to be out of the overly warm and crowded building and into the cool winter air. The pricey department store appeared to have much of its merchandise on sale this particular week, successfully luring a large number of customers through its doors. Unfortunately, the congestion inside the store was equal to that of the automobile and foot traffic outside. Cars and trucks were lined up bumper to bumper, their head and tail lights shining brightly and a variety of horns were sounding their impatience. He had to turn his from left to right in order to look up and down the avenue. He had called Regis to bring the car around when the girl wrapping his purchases appeared as if she was about finished with the onerous task. The car should have been in front of the building by now, he thought with a frown of annoyance.

It was hard to see over the packages in his arms, carefully stacked and tall enough to reach his chin. Despite being easily identifiable, the silver Rolls Royce was nowhere to be seen. He vaguely recalled a loading zone to his left and, thinking his driver might be waiting for him there, he abruptly turned in that direction and began to walk toward it when, almost immediately, he stumbled into something. Judging by the loud squawk and grunt he instantly revised that observation to having run into not into _something_, but rather _someone_. He stumbled forward as a result of the impact and watched in horror as his packages leaned perilously forward. He reacted without thinking, automatically trying to compensate to avoid losing his hold on the stack of gifts. Unfortunately, the person he had collided with was under his feet, tripping him up. In a most undignified move, he succumbed to the fall, going down like a domino, face first with his packages tumbling out of his arms and onto the sidewalk. Fortunately, his embarrassing tumble was softened somewhat when he landed on something rather soft and lumpy.

"Get off, you clumsy oaf!" It was definitely a male voice shouting from below him. Planting his gloved hands on the sidewalk, Milliardo pushed himself up to his hands and knees to look down on the person responsible for his fall. Sprawled out beneath him and surrounded by an array of gifts was none other than Duo Maxwell. He easily recognized the former gundam pilot despite the gray woolen cap warming his head and his being bundled defensively from the cold in a thick down jacket and a neck scarf covering the lower half of his face. The distinctive voice, large violet eyes and cinnamon colored braid laying on the damp pavement easily identified his fellow Preventer. Those unique blue-violet eyes widened the moment Duo recognized who it was he'd knocked down.

"Peacecraft!" he exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing plowing into innocent pedestrians?"

"I beg your pardon," Milliardo said with as much frost in his voice as he could manage. "I believe you slammed into me."

"No," the sprawled-out young man argued, "I was minding my own business when you suddenly turned and walked right into me."

The tall blond paused a moment to think. Yes, he did turn suddenly, and his arms were full enough that if Maxwell, small in stature as he was, happened to be in his blind spot, he could indeed have been the guilty party. Slowly rising to his feet, he reached out and lent a hand to the man still lying on his back. "I apologize," he said in a sincere voice. "Are you alright?"

He pulled Maxwell to his feet, and from that brief contact he concluded that younger man was as light as he looked. Milliardo knew that many colonists were smaller in statue than Earthers, but Maxwell had as yet failed to get the growth spurt the other former gundam pilots had enjoyed. He remained short and thin for an average eighteen year old, though he made up for his lack of statue with his large personality and uncanny abilities in the areas of piloting, stealth and in being Preventers' main explosives expert. Once he was steady on his feet, Maxwell brushed both snow and mud off his clothing and looked down at the mess of gifts strew around them.

The former gundam pilot sounded justifiably upset when he erupted with, "Ah shit! I just spent the last three hours shopping. If you've ruined my gifts, Peacecraft, I'm going to have to beat the crap out of you."

Milliardo struggled to keep himself from grinning at the image in his mind of the smaller man trying to pick a fight him. Though knowing of Maxwell's abilities, he'd definitely have a run for his money if the braided teen decided to attack him. With a sigh he glanced at the gifts strewn across the sidewalk, causing the other pedestrians passing by to pause before carefully stepping around them. His gifts were mixed up with Maxwell's and frankly, it was a mess they would have to sort out. The honk of a familiar horn caught his attention and the silver Rolls came rolling up to the curbside. Making a quick decision, he turned to the younger man and motioned to the gifts. "If I can make a suggestion, let's gather up the gifts and put them into my car. We can go to my place and sort them out."

Duo looked up at him with a questioning expression. "Your place? You mean the palace?"

"That is where I live," he replied in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Tell you what, my place is closer; we can go there if you want."

Milliardo thought going to Maxwell's place would probably be the better option. With the traffic being as heavy as it was, it would take a good half hour to reach his residence and then Regis would only have to turn around and drive Maxwell back. "Very well. Let's pick these packages up before someone helps themselves to them."

The uniformed chauffeur rushed to the scene, leaving the parked car running. Between the three men they managed to pick up the many gifts and deposited them in the trunk of the car in a surprisingly short amount of time. Once that chore had been completed, the men each took a seat in the car, with Regis resuming the driver's seat and Milliardo and Duo sitting in the back. The partition between the front and back compartments were opened so that the diver could take Duo's directions to his apartment.

Five minutes later the conspicuous car pulled up in front of the Windsor apartment complex. The driver turned in his seat with a look of worry aimed at his employer. "Are you certain this is safe, Prince Milliardo? To be honest, this is a less than desirable neighborhood."

"Hey! Less than desirable to who?" Duo asked, clearly affronted by the comment regarding the area in which he lived. "I happen to like livin' here."

"I'm sure it's fine, Regis," Milliardo quickly replied, hoping to avoid any unpleasant confrontations between Maxwell and his driver. The braided teen was reported to have a quick temper.

"Should I wait here or go inside with you, sir?"

"Stay with the car. You can drive back to the coffee shop I spotted several blocks back if you like, and I'll call for you when Mr. Maxwell and I have separated out the gifts."

The man in the front seat looked as though he thought the suggestion to be a bad one, but he wisely kept his opinion to himself and simply nodded in reply. Taking that as his cue, Duo threw open the car door and jumped out of the back seat, then turned and waited for the tall blond to follow. Together they went to the back of the car and the boot popped open. Using the bags from the stores Duo had shopped, they carried the full load of mixed-up packages into the building and then up the stairs to the second floor.

The younger man had to set his packages down in order to locate his key chain and open his apartment door while Milliardo patiently waited behind him. As the door inched open the room lit up, bright as day when compared to the dim-lit hallway. "Do you share the apartment with anyone?" Milliardo asked as Duo retrieved his packages from the floor and stepped inside.

"Nope. Just me. I rigged all the lights to come on the moment the door opens. If there's anyone lurking inside, they'll have a hard time trying to hide themselves."

"Do you expect someone to be 'lurking'?"

Duo's grin diminished slightly as he replied, "Well, an ex-gundam pilot can't be too careful. Still have enemies out there, you know."

"Yes, I know." Milliardo knew only too well what it was like to have enemies. The threats to his life had been one of several reasons for his having moved into the palace after he'd returned to Sanq. Relena's security was the best money could buy, and she had insisted they try living under the same roof, seeing as they were the only family either one of them had.

"Well, don't stand there in the hall thinkin' all night. Come on in," said Duo with an inviting grin.

Stepping over the threshold, Milliardo cast his eyes around Maxwell's apartment. With one glance he had the layout of the entire place. The main room was attached to the small kitchen, separated only by a small eating bar. To his left were two doors: one was most likely a bedroom, the other the bathroom. Maxwell lived rather simply, with a long, dark green, plaid sofa that looked not only new, but comfortable as well. There was a coffee table, two end tables, lamps and a small table against the wall supporting a good-sized television. Another thing that was obvious from the moment he entered the room was the warmth. The apartment was well heated, a welcomed change from the chill of the outdoors.

"Take your coat off and set it on the chair." Duo pointed to a small arm chair, located to his left and next to the brightly lit, six-foot tall Christmas tree in the corner.

"Do you always keep your apartment this warm?" Milliardo asked as he peeled off his long, wool coat.

"I've got it on a timer. I set it for a half hour before I think I'll be home. Can't stand to be cold."

Milliardo studied the young man as he peeled off his own thick coat, revealing that Maxwell was indeed slim, so he probably didn't have much in the way of natural insulation. Retaining heat might be a problem for someone with such a slight build, he thought. Still, the braided teen, who was eighteen, if he remembered correctly, looked very, very good dressed in fitted black jeans and a white long-sleeve T-shirt.

"Want something hot to drink? I've got coffee, tea and hot cocoa," Duo said as he walked towards his small kitchen.

"You have tea?" Milliardo was rather surprised someone from L2 would have that particular beverage in his home.

"Sure," the braided one shrugged. "Some of my friends are tea freaks, so I make sure to have some on hand in case they drop by."

"This late in the evening I prefer tea, something herbal and no caffeine, if you have it. Does that make me a tea freak?" He wondered with a grin.

Bubbling laughter came from the other end of the room. "Only if you habitually drink it three or more times a day."

"I'm more of a morning and an infrequent evening tea drinker."

Duo's head peeked around the kitchen's cabinet. "Then you're safe from the freak classification."

"Glad to know," the blond mumbled, amused by the man in the kitchen. With nothing else to do, he began to pick through the first department store bag, separating his purchases from Duo's. It was a relatively easy task, given his gifts were wrapped and Duo's were not.

He studied each package to see if there was any damage to the box or wrapping. It wouldn't do to present gifts with damaged packaging to those on his list. After inspecting several packages, he reached into the bag once more and pulled out a most unusual item. After a moment of studying the round disk, and reading the card attached to it, he deduced it to be a guessing game of some sort. It seemed a silly gift to give, but then considering Duo's age, maybe it was a gift one young man would give to another.

"That one's mine," Duo announced as he walked up to the blond man. "That's for Director Une."

Milliardo's eyes widened at the news. He debated for a moment whether or not to educate Duo on what was an appropriate gift for a director of the Preventer organization. He didn't want to hurt the young man's feelings, but surely constructive criticism would be welcome rather than allowing him to commit a social faux pas. After clearing his throat, he ventured to gently correct the younger man.

"Are you sure this is for her? She doesn't seem the type who would spend time playing a game."

"Which is exactly why I bought it for her. She's too serious. She needs to let her hair down and have some fun once in a while. What did you buy her?"

"A necklace."

Duo looked up. "She's got plenty of those already. You sure she needs another one?"

"Women, I am told, can never have too many beautiful things." Still dubious as to the suitability of Duo's gift for Une, Milliardo opened the bag once more and peered inside, curious now about what other unusual gifts might be found in there. He was correct in assuming he'd find more atypical items inside.

He pulled out a clock, one with birds on it. With one eyebrow raised in question towards Duo, the eighteen year old didn't miss a beat in replying, "That's for Trowa. He's an in-the-closet bird watcher. Every hour chimes with birdsong."

Setting the clock on the table, Milliardo reached in for another gift, finding himself both astonished and amused by Duo's selections. He pulled out a box with a Santa doll inside it. "That's for Howard," Duo supplied with a shake of his head. "He gets a kick out of the stupidest things."

Milliardo continued to study the Santa. It was a rather odd rendition of the jolly old elf, the expression on the doll seemed to be sneering instead of the traditional smiling expression of a trusted grandfather, which led him to suspect it did something unusual. "What does this do?"

"Tug on his upraised finger," the younger man instructed, not able to suppress his grin.

Milliardo did so, and flushed with embarrassment when a loud, obnoxious sound emanated from the Santa. With both white eyebrows raised the Prince of Sanq asked, "Is that what I think it is?"

"A gassy Santa," Duo replied with a crooked grin.

It was difficult for him to see the older man, who was considered a genius in the field of battle-suit engineering, enjoying such a gift. "Did you buy all your gifts with a humorous reaction in mind?"

"Yup. I think a holiday like Christmas should be a happy occasion. I'm sure everyone else will give them more practical gifts, so I thought giving the impractical might be something different, out of the norm."

_Out of the norm is right,_ the blond said to himself. Pulling the next box out of the bag, Milliardo cast a slightly chastising glance at the younger man after reading what was written on the outside of the container. "Perv, the Nasty Elf?"

"That's for my best pal, Quatre."

"Winner?" The blond couldn't help laughing out loud. He could scarcely believe Duo was giving such an outrageous gift to the heir of the Winner dynasty.

"Yep, the one and only," Duo beamed proudly. "Quatre might look innocent, but that boy's got a dirty mind that tops even my own, especially when it comes to Trowa."

Milliardo's eyes widened. "I didn't know they were seeing each other."

"Well, they keep it on the down low, but they've been hot and heavy since last December."

Looking into the bag once more, Milliardo looked at the variety of gifts. They were certainly unusual and plentiful. "You accomplished this much shopping in one evening?"

"Yeah, but that's not all of them. I've already got some presents wrapped and under the tree."

A glance under the decorated tree confirmed Duo's statement. And now that he was looking, Milliardo realized the gift wrapping was rather extraordinary. Each present was wrapped in foil of gold, silver, blue, red or green and decorated further by beautiful holiday pictures on the top, framed by ribbons or small bows. "Do you wrap your own presents?"

"Yup. That's part of the fun. I see you had yours wrapped at the store."

"It's easier that way," Milliardo replied, feeling unusually defensive about not having wrapped the gifts himself even though the other man's comment didn't sound judgmental.

Without further comment, Duo began to go through the remaining bags, and separated the pre-wrapped gifts from his own. He picked up a slender box, wrapped in red paper with silver bells on it, a large bow on top. "What's in here?" the braided teen asked while shaking the box. "A silver bracelet for Noin."

"Anything special about it?"

"Not really," the taller man replied. "It was attractive, expensive and the kind of thing she usually enjoys."

Duo looked at the box thoughtfully, then shook his head, set it down and then pulled out another gift box, the largest one. "That's a coat for Pagan, senior member of our staff at the palace."

"What's it look like?"

"Long, black, double breasted."

Duo frowned. "Sounds boring."

"Well the man is in his seventies and, from what I've been told, has worn the same style of coat for the past twenty years." Again, Milliardo wondered why he felt the need to defend his selections.

"I'm sure it's nice and all, but after twenty years don't you think he'd like something different?"

Pale blue eyes blinked. That thought had never occurred to him.

Milliardo dug into the bag in his hand once more and pulled out a familiar red-framed gift. "An Etch-A-Sketch?"

"Wufei. He's a doodler. His trash can is filled with paper covered with doodles. He seems to like keeping his mind and hands busy so this way he can cut down on waste paper and save a small forest."

They continued in this manner for at least another five minutes, taking turns describing each gift pulled out of the bags and why they'd chosen it for that particular person. It took only a few more minutes for the Prince of Sanq's gifts to be separated and put into one of the bags for easy carrying. By then the tea kettle was whistling.

"I'll make the tea if you want to sit and relax."

Looking at his watch, Milliardo wondered if he should make an excuse and leave. It was nearing nine o'clock. He then glanced at the younger man, his long braid of chestnut hanging over his left shoulder and a look of anticipation on his handsome face. What the hell, he thought, acknowledging that he had nothing better to do and, if he were honest with himself, he was finding Duo Maxwell to be a very pleasant person to be around. With his warm and cheerful apartment and upbeat attitude, Milliardo found himself feeling unusually relaxed and comfortable in the other man's presence. It was clear from the moment of their collision earlier that Duo was not overly impressed by his social standing or wealth. That attitude was a breath of fresh air from how others in both his work and social circles treated him. Taking a seat, he grinned at Maxwell. "Anything to go with that tea. I'm afraid I skipped supper this evening?"

Duo's smile brightened. "I'm sure I can rustle up something. Hold on a minute, okay?"

"Okay."

Settling back into the soft sofa, Milliardo found himself gazing at the Christmas tree and was amused by the ornaments. There didn't seem to be two alike. There were numerous Santa Clauses, some were clear acrylic, others cloth, woodcut and even one that appeared to be made from a sea shell. There were beautiful red and gold glass ornaments, angels and snowmen made from red bells. The tree, much like its decorator, was bright and cheerful.

A short time later, Duo returned, carrying a tray with two steaming black mugs, a cup of sugar, one plate of cookies and another with cheese, ham slices and crackers. "That's all I could manage on the spur of the moment," he said with a slight grin of apology.

"It's more than enough. Thank you," the blond said as he reached for the plate of crackers, meat and cheese.

While they enjoyed the refreshments, Duo chatted about work and asked his guest about his job, which included supervising Preventers' top agents. Milliardo admitted to liking his job, with the exception of not being more involved in the cases he sent other men and women to solve. They chatted about the people they worked with and the blond found it refreshing that Duo had not a bad word to say about anyone, most definitely a change from certain judgmental malcontents and social climbers whose presence he was forced to endure in public because of the condition of his birth as a royal of Sanq.

When the plates of food and cookies had been fully sampled and the tea in their cups drained, Milliardo brought up the one person they had in common and of whom they hadn't spoken of. "Have you heard anything from Heero?" It seemed to him as if the braided young man gave a start a scant moment before his intense study of the material covering his sofa began.

"No. It's been a year and, as far as I know, he hasn't contacted anyone." Then with a look of hesitation he asked, "Has Relena heard from him?"

Well aware that his sister and Maxwell had engaged in a sort of tug-a-war for Yuy's affections, he cursed himself for bringing up what appeared to be a painful topic for the braided man. "No, she hasn't. I'm sorry. Perhaps I shouldn't have brought him up."

Duo shook his head. "Nah, it's alright. I decided after six months had gone by that he wasn't coming back. I think waking up in the hospital with me and Relena hovering over him and vying for his attention made him decide to cut out. I've decided to move on."

"Relena still hopes he'll come back. She's convinced that he'll turn to her for whatever it is he's looking for."

"Peace," Duo said, then looked into the other man's pale blue eyes. "He's looking for peace, and it was pretty damn clear that me and your sister didn't give him a moment's rest. I told her he was gay, but she wouldn't believe me."

"She was convinced otherwise."

Duo left eyebrow rose as he asked. "Did she sleep with him?"

"No. But she's still confident that he will eventually feel for her what she does for him."

The braided man shook his head, and with a sad smirk he said, "Even though he's the strongest, bravest bastard I've ever known, I know from first hand experience that Heero's gay through and through. But I've been known to be wrong from time to time. Maybe he's bi."

"You were lovers?"

A long, pained sigh accompanied the answer to that question. "I thought so, but I guess Heero thought we were something else."

"His leaving hurt you."

Duo shrugged. "Yeah, but that's yesterday's news. I decided last June to follow Heero's example, to put him behind me and get on with life. Unlike him, I didn't need to run away in order to do just that."

For his part, Milliardo was glad Duo man hadn't run off. If he had, they wouldn't be enjoying this evening together. He glanced down at his watch and was surprised to see it was nearly ten fifteen. "It's late," he stated and rose to his feet with some reluctance. "My driver will be worried about me."

"Ah, he shouldn't be. From the looks of it you can take care of yourself as well as I can."

The blond gave the other man a genuine smile of pleasure in return. "Thank you, Duo. That's the best compliment I've had in a long time,"

"Go ahead and call your driver. I'll clean this up," Duo said, motioning to the tray of food and tea cups. Two minutes later, with his coat back on and holding onto the packages in the large shopping bag, Milliardo was ready to leave.

"Wait a sec," Duo called out as he turned and rushed to the Christmas tree. Bending down, he shifted through several packages beneath the branches and pulled one out. Wearing a happy grin, he approached the blond. "Here." He held out a rectangular box wrapped in red paper dotted with little penguins wearing Santa hats. "It's not much, but I'd like you to have this. Merry Christmas!"

Genuinely surprised, Milliardo reached out and accepted the gift. "Thank you, Duo. Should I open this now, or on Christmas morn?"

If he wasn't mistaken, Maxwell was blushing. "Ah... not now, but don't wait until Christmas either. I'm hoping you'll enjoy it before the big day."

"I'm sure I will." Recalling how unusual the other gifts Duo had purchased for his friends were, he couldn't help but wonder what surprise lay within the box.

Duo saw him to the door, and after exiting the apartment the Prince of Sanq turned to the shorter man once more. "This has been a most enjoyable evening, Duo. It's been a pleasure talking with you. Perhaps we can do this again sometime."

The braided man suddenly seemed a tad bashful. With his hand tugging at his braid, he answered, "Ah, yeah. Sure. We can hang out. I'm not sure where," he chuckled. "You being a prince and all, I can't exactly see you in the pool hall or bowling alley."

With his best haughty expression, Milliardo replied, "I'll have you know that I excel at billiards and have bowled a game or two when I was a soldier."

"Yeah?" Duo looked impressed, which pleased the prince very much.

"I'll catch up with you at work and we'll plan something, alright?"

"Sure thing." The smile on Duo's face, coupled with the warmth of his expression, lingered with the prince long after he arrived home that night. When he was at last ensconced in his room, divested of his coat and purchases, he removed the gift Duo had given him from his coat pocket. Digging his fingernails into the paper, he didn't spend even one moment to consider whether or not he should open it. His deep, amused laughter carried down the hall of the private suite of rooms reserved for Sanq's royalty. Relena heard it from her own room and wondered what had caused such an unusual reaction from her normally sober-minded brother.

One week passed, and there remained only three days until Christmas. Much to Milliardo's disappointment, he hadn't seen Duo at headquarters since their evening together, but he knew the braided teen was scheduled to attend the meeting of the agency's top agents to discuss the cases and criminals on their Most Wanted list. Milliardo entered the meeting carrying a nondescript brown bag in his left hand. Duo greeted him at the door with a handshake and friendly smile just before the meeting began. They quickly took their seats as Une stood and immediately began outlining the meeting's agenda.

Suddenly, a loud synthesized, musical tune rang out, stopping the head of Preventers from continuing. "What is that noise?" she demanded of her subordinates with a disapproving frown.

Milliardo leaned back and crossed one leg over the other, bringing his ankle within reach. To the surprise of everyone in the room, the Prince of Sanq wore a pair of black socks with a famous reindeer on the front, a red blinking light was located where the recognizable character's nose should be, blinking in time with the song, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Depressing a disk hidden inside the top edge of the sock, the song ended abruptly. "Sorry," he said for having disrupted the meeting, though his grin belied any real apology. There were chuckles and smirks around the table, but when the blond's eyes settled on the braided agent, Milliardo was pleased to see a beaming smile aimed in his direction. Duo winked at him and Milliardo winked back. Wearing his gift from Duo to the long and stuffy meeting had been a good idea. He also decided that it felt pretty damn good sharing an inside joke with someone else. It had been far too long since he'd had a real friend.

"Please refrain from setting off your socks, Agent Wind. I won't be pleased if I'm interrupted again." More chuckles were stifled at the absurd warning.

"Understood." The meeting came to order quickly and Une began where she left off. Milliardo gave her his attention, but every once in a while he could feel someone watching him and when he casually glanced around, the only person looking his way was Duo. Catching his eye, the blond gave the other man a smile, which was immediately returned. Suddenly, he felt enough confidence to follow through with his plan for after the meeting.

The meeting, however, seemed to drag on forever, and despite his best efforts, Milliardo's socks were accidentally set off three more times before Une called an end to the meeting. After the last warning scowl from the director, Milliardo vowed to not repeat the offence by his habitual habit of stretching out his legs and crossing his ankles.

At last the meeting came to an end and the agents were dismissed to return to their work. The blond remained in his seat as he watched everyone file out while Duo appeared to be taking his time organizing the stack of papers in front of him. When the last of the group was gone, Duo looked up and with a grin asked, "So, how do you like them? The socks."

Lifting his long legs to the chair adjacent to his own and crossing his ankles, the music began again. "I like them very much," he answered with a grin. "Thank you again."

"I'm glad," Duo said with an equally pleased smile. Milliardo thought the other young man's attractiveness was enhanced further when he blushed.

"I've something for you in return." Milliardo lowered his legs again and bent over to pull a box out of a plain-brown shopping bag.

Duo's big eyes widened further. "You didn't need to do that."

"I know, but I wanted too."

Duo accepted the gift with both hands. It was a large square box wrapped in gold foil with white ribbons and a large matching bow. "Now or later?" he asked.

"I think I'd like to see your expression when you open it, so do it now."

Excitement lit the other agent's eyes as he began to open the package with haste. Once free of wrapping paper, Duo broke the seal covering the lid and opened the top. There was a moment of silence as Duo surveyed the object inside, and when he looked up, a look of unadulterated happiness shone on his face.

"What the hell?," he asked with a laugh and wearing a wide, pleased smile as he carefully maneuvered the gift from out of the box. Milliardo couldn't help laughing himself at how silly and impractical his gift truly was. Regardless of its ridiculousness, it did seem to make Duo happy. Placing the hat on top of his braided head, Duo spent a moment adjusting it before looking up, causing the tall, normally stoic blond to burst out laughing again. The hat began as any Santa hat would, with a white fur trim circling around Duo's head. But instead of the traditional pointed cap that folded over with a white tuft at the end, this hat was more of a cap, fitted to the head. And on the material resting on Maxwell's head, a red, velvet-covered coil ran in a diminishing circle from the fur trim to the center. There, the coil tightened further, curling up like a spring to a height of six inches above Duo's crown where a white puff of fur was attached to the very tip.

"You look like a rather stylish, trend-setting elf," the blond gasped as he tried to catch his breath after laughing so hard at the humorous sight.

Duo tilted his head from one side to the other, causing the tuft at the end of the coil to bounce back and forth. His smile looked like it was about to split his face in half. "This is the coolest hat ever. Thanks, Mill."

For as long as he could remember, no one had ever called Prince Milliardo Peacecraft Mill. He liked the casualness of the nickname very much. "You're welcome." From the happy expression on Duo's handsome face, there was no doubt in the blond's mind that the other man's gratitude was genuine. Duo was right, Christmas should be a happy time. For a long while now he hadn't experienced this... well, he didn't know what to call what he was feeling other than a glimmer of hope for something better. During their two brief encounters, the Prince of Sanq had felt something stir deep within him, something he thought was dead after Treize's demise.

"Have you made plans for Christmas?" he asked, hoping Duo would be free.

Still bouncing his head around, the tuft of white swirling wildly above his head, Duo answered somewhat distractedly. "Yeah. I'm going to Quatre and Trowa's for Christmas Eve, and then a bunch of the guys from work are getting together for a game of touch football the next morning. Ever play the game?"

"Can't say that I have, but I could always learn."

Duo then rattled off the time and place from memory, as well as a suggestion for what type of clothing he should wear for the outdoor activity. With that done, the cinnamon-haired man picked up his box and papers and with a lopsided grin indicated that he really should get back to his office to wrap things up for the long weekend.

Milliardo gathered up his courage to say something further and reached out to grab hold of the other's arm to stop him from leaving. Duo looked at him with a questioning expression. "Have you made plans for New Year's Eve?"

"Nothing set in stone," answered Duo. "Why?"

"Care to spend the evening with me? New friends seeing a new year in together?"

The braided head turned, and those unblinking, violet eyes studied him long and hard. Milliardo felt certain that Duo was attempting to look into his heart and mind and hopefully seeing within them his desire for friendship and perhaps, in time, something more. "As friends, or like a date?" the shorter man asked.

Time to be honest, the taller man thought. "What would you be more comfortable with?"

"Well," Duo paused to ponder his answer, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I don't know, Mill. I enjoyed the evening we spent at my apartment, but I don't think we have a whole hell of a lot in common."

"I see," the blond replied, seeing Duo's indecision and knowing he had experienced some of that himself when considering a possible friendship/relationship with the braided agent. Fortunately, he'd anticipated such an impasse.

"I can see this question has you flummoxed, so may I suggest we invite the advice of an expert?"

Duo cocked his head to the side, his curiosity was definitely piqued. "Who's the expert?"

"Not who, but what." Milliardo found it hard to contain his laughter as he reached into his large brown bag and pulled out one last gift, wrapped simply in holiday tissue for easy opening. He held it out to Duo, who took it, but looked more confused than grateful.

"Another gift?" he asked.

"Something to help you decide about New Year's Eve."

The eighteen year old dug his nails into the thin paper and quickly separated it from the box inside. It took only a glance at the object before that wonderful smile Maxwell was known for reappeared. "A Magic 8 ball?"

"Go ahead, ask it if you should set aside your New Year's Eve to spend with me." After reading all the possible answers to the silly toy, Milliardo was fairly certain of the outcome, seeing there were only five negative answers out of twenty.

Duo took the ball out of the box, set the packaging materials on the table, then followed the instruction and shook the ball slightly while asking. "Should I go out with Mill on New Years?" Wearing a mischievous grin, he turned the ball over to bent over look at the answer screen. "_Better not tell you now_," he read out loud.

"Try again," the blond urged.

"Okay." Once more, Duo turned the ball, asked the question then turned it back. "_Looking good_? Is that a yes or no?" The mischievous glint in the blue-violet eyes told Milliardo that Duo was enjoying teasing him.

"I'd say that's a yes."

"Ah, but you're biased. I better try again."

And so he did, but the answer to his question was once more ambiguous. "_Concentrate and ask again_." This wasn't going the way Milliardo had planned.

Duo made a show of closing his eyes while shaking the small black ball once again and asking the question out loud. Turning it over, he opened his eyes to gaze into the murky blackness and read, "_Without a doubt_."

Milliardo released a held breath, relieved to have the game over and ending in his favor. "So, is that your answer?"

Duo chuckled. It was a warm and deep sound that the blond found appealing. "Of course. Who am I to question a higher source?" the braided man asked, the black ball still cupped in his hands. "Besides," he added with a flirting wink, "a date with a good looking guy like you couldn't hurt my reputation any. I guess we could try it out, see if we grow on each other."

"My thoughts exactly," Milliardo said, utterly pleased that Duo had responded so positively. The fact that the younger man didn't seem impressed by his title or wealth, but alluded to a physical attraction, gave him hope that something, or rather, someone wonderful had finally come his way. "Leave it to me and I'll plan something special."

Duo nodded. "Sure thing, just as long as I don't have to wear some fancy-smancy suit."

Relena was going to be upset with him for missing the New Year's party she'd been planning for the past couple of months, but at the moment he really didn't care. He had a date with Duo Maxwell. "Understood. I'll let you know when I see you at the scrimmage on Christmas day what time you can expect me on New Years."

Duo nodded and held the 8 ball out to him. Milliardo put his larger hand over those's and said, "Keep it. It's a gift."

The man with the cinnamon colored braid looked pleased. "Guess I'll have to use it to make all my important decisions if the one it just made for me turns out good."

For some reason, Milliardo found it unusually difficult to separate himself from the younger man. His fondness for Duo was growing with each encounter. As he watched the spritely brunet walk back towards his office, the tip of his silly cap bouncing wildly above his head and the end of the braid drawing the eye downward, Milliardo smiled. Without a doubt he'd be hard pressed to get the braided man out of his thoughts, especially with the way that magnificent braid swished back and forth across his nicely shaped posterior.

Yes, things were looking up and Milliardo felt happier than he could remember being in a long, long time. It was funny, he mused, how a chance encounter and a silly gift had caused such a positive change within him. He paused to think a moment about Heero Yuy, and he couldn't understand why the former Wing Pilot had run, rejecting someone like Duo_. Well, Heero_, he said to himself, _he who hesitates is lost_. Hopefully the former Wing pilot's loss might just possibly be his gain. And if Yuy should miraculously return and decide to pick up where he'd left off with Duo Maxwell, well, maybe by then it would be a moot point. He'd already decided that whether or not anything developed in the way of romance between himself and Duo, he was determined to be a good friend to the young, vivacious man. It was the least he could do after Duo had made his holiday season, as well as his outlook on life, a bit brighter and more optimistic. Bending over, he depressed the button on his socks that activated the light on the reindeer's nose and the electronic music. With his head held high and wearing a smile, he strolled through the halls of the Preventers' building with a lighter step, wishing everyone he met a heartfelt "Merry Christmas."

The End


End file.
